ENG 258 - Introduction to Film Studies

Current trends stemming from the globalization of the media and its accompanying media synergies make it untenable to view the cinema as a discrete, unitary phenomenon. This course addresses this phenomenon in a parallel manner by bridging the disciplinary divides between film theory, media and cultural studies. Conjoining theoretical and historical approaches to cinematic texts, institutions and audiences, this course explores the multi- dimensional nature of the cinema and its place in society: (1) as representational spaces with textual properties and reading protocols enabling the creation of “meaning,” (2) as a unique industry driven by political and economic agendas; and (3) as a social practice that audiences “do,” involving relations of subjectivity and power.